Sports
Proteas not taking lowly ranked Windies for granted
Johannesburg: Captain Hashim Amla said South Africa do not intend to underestimate the West Indies when the series against the tourists from the Caribbean gets underway here Dec 17.
The eighth-ranked West Indies come into the series with six losses from their last 10 Tests but Amla believes Denesh Ramdin’s men would provide a good contest for the Proteas.
“There’s definitely no need to be complacent against the West Indies. They are a team that has a lot of explosive power, they play colourful, exciting cricket,” Amla said here Tuesday.
The first of the three Tests begins Dec 17 at the Centurion.
“There’s no reason for us to hold them in any lighter esteem. We’ve got a good squad and the strength of our team is concentrating on what we do well.”
South Africa have come off a 1-4 One-Day International (ODI) series loss away against Australia last month. However, Amla is optimistic that their 50-over struggles against the Aussies will not return to haunt them against their West Indian rivals.
“I don’t think any of the baggage will follow us. Test cricket is a largely different format from one-day cricket. Being at home with the team we have — an almost developing Test team — I don’t think that series will impact us,” he said.
The second test starts Boxing Day Dec 26 with the final Test due to start Jan 2 at Capetown followed by three Twenty20 Internationals and five ODIs.
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.
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